As of 2017, what was the strongest known “superacid”?

Although, according to most sources, sulfuric acid is the strongest mineral acid known, fluoroantimonic acid is the strongest “superacid”. It is a conjugate acid, that is, a combination of two acidic substances. In this case, hydrogen fluoride (HF) is combined with antimony pentafluoride.

It can be contained only in Teflon, and its “Hammet acidity function” (Ho) is minus 31.3, while sulfuric acid’s Ho is minus 12.0. This means that Fluoroantimonic acid is 10 quadrillion times stronger than 100% sulfuric acid.

The term “superacid” was first used in 1927; it is applied to any acid that is stronger than 100% sulfuric acid. Carborane acid is a superacid, but not a conjugate acid; at Ho -18.0, it is the strongest “solo” superacid. Magic acid’s Ho is -19.2.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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20 Comments

David Roy

Magic acid had its heyday in the 60s.

Cheryl Love

jonbroberts, sulfuric and nitric acids are commonly used in chemistry labs and research.

✨KRISTA✨

I treated two patients that were sprayed with hydrofluoric acid when I worked Adult Burn ICU. They were victims of an industrial incident. They just had small spots where the acid made contact with the skin. The problem with this particular acid is it keeps burning through the layers of the skin and if not neutralized, the acid can burn down into the bone itself. The acid was neutralized with injections of calcium into each individual burn spot...it was a tedious process but it was successful.